University Presbyterian and Seattle Pro Audio Team Up With McCauely Sound

"We thought we’d have to spend several thousand dollars more, but Michael showed us that we could do everything we wanted – and more -- with the McCauley Sound product. It turned out to be an effective, compact, and affordable solution."

Jeff Blackburn

University Presbyterian Church

Larson Hall is a large, multi-purpose room on the campus of University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. At one time the room was used for just occasional social gatherings and some speeches, but now it hosts a wide variety of events each week, including recreation for kids, large communal meals, student ministry and outreach, and full band concerts. And it’s that last activity that got Jeff Blackburn, the Media Services Supervisor at the church, thinking: “We knew we could do more with the space, but it wasn’t until we started setting up amps and drums that we realized how bad the feedback was on our old system.”

The room has various ceiling heights and movable partitions, and when the walls are opened up it can seat up to a thousand people. That kind of versatility is useful, but it does come at a price, acoustically speaking, and the gear they had didn’t have the coverage or clarity they wanted. They knew they needed a new system, but were concerned about the visual impact of the equipment, as well as output and cost.

For advice, Blackburn turned to Michael Gardner, owner of Seattle Pro Audio, whom he had worked with before. A respected professional with over 25 years of experience, Gardner specializes in sound reinforcement for churches, theaters, and arenas across the Northwest.

After evaluating and testing a variety of options with Gardner, Blackburn decided that McCauley Sound’s IN.LINE installation-grade line array modules were the best choice, going with two N120s, six

N90s, four NS1 subwoofers, and one MCS4.8, all of which were installed by Gardner. The system fit the room as well as their budget.

“In fact, he saved us a lot of money,” said Blackburn. “We thought we’d have to spend several thousand dollars more, but Michael showed us that we could do everything we wanted – and more -- with the McCauley Sound product. It turned out to be an effective, compact, and affordable solution.”

The “incredibly clean installation” was also a selling point for Blackburn because he didn’t want the equipment to disrupt the aesthetics of the church. Fortunately, the IN.LINE’s covered they way they wanted with only two line array hangs and provided the low end impact and clarity they were looking for.

“Sometimes clients have to sacrifice performance in order to maintain aesthetics, but they didn’t have to make that choice here,” explained Gardner. “This IN.LINE system satisfied all of their requirements and they were ecstatic about the final product.”

“The IN.LINE’s have an amazing design,” said Blackburn. “They project the sound exactly where we need it instead of spreading it all over the room. Both the horizontal and vertical treatment is excellent. They also eliminate the need for extra fill speakers. We used to use 12. Now we only need four.”

“It’s a completely integrated system that does everything we want it to. It has all the headroom we need, great musical depth, and super control of dynamics and pattern. It’s unbelievably loud and clear without